(Image source from: ISIS misquoting Quran)
British imams and scholars is looking to "reclaim the Internet" with a new magazine aimed at shifting the conversation and spreading a message of truth. The militant group Islamic State, or ISIS, has pushed online campaigns to attract youth to its bloody crusade in Syria and Iraq by using a twisted version of Islam. Haqiqah, meaning "the truth" or "the reality" in Arabic, is a digital magazine created by Islamic scholars. The goal, they say, is to "drown out" the voices perpetuating violence. More than 100 imams were reportedly present at the launch of the magazine in London.
“Someone has to reclaim that territory from ISIS, and that can only be imams, religious leaders who guide and nourish their community,” Qari Asim, senior editor at Imams Online, told. “But now that we live in a digital mobile world, some young people are not coming to the mosque so we must reach out to them -– and this is the Muslims’ contribution to combat radicalization on the net." It's been estimated there may be as many as 70,000 pro-ISIS accounts on Twitter alone.
"If this is part of community-led initiatives to counter ISIS, then it is exactly what's needed," Salam Al-Marayati, president of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, told. "Governments and their military forces cannot bomb away ideas of violent extremism. Authentic and credible community voices can wash away the filth from the cult of death, bring the light of life to lost souls, hoping to rehabilitate them so they don't destroy themselves and their families."
The first issue of Haqiqah terms ISIS as an "empty banner" and states that "interspersing the occasional out of context Quranic verse with hyperbolic arguments" does equate to legitimacy. This misconstruction, is not Islam, the magazine tells. We can see that many of the characteristics found in these young men and women are similar to those identified as the Khawarij (Extremist/Dissenters) by the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). In the pursuit of their ill-intended aim, they are prepared to bulldoze the fundamental teachings of Islam.
By Premji
